Marxism

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Marxism
The Great Gatsby was published in 1925, and through it, Scot Fitzgerald receives his most favorable reviews ever. According to sources, the novel had and still has a great influence in America. The book may appear to discuss only a pure disastrous romance, but there are many themes related to it. Of mice and men is yet another thrilling novel set in California in the 1930’s. John Steinbeck based his book on the aftermath of World War I and the Wall Street Crash in the 1920’s. In his book, this writer illustrates the effects that change in the economy had on the people’s lives. Lastly, “no one writes to the colonel is Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel written in the 1930’s. Unlike many other works were written by Marquez, the book is not in the magical realism genre. Social status/identity, morals/values and the American dream are dominant themes and points of discussion across the three literature materials.
Social status and social identity
To begin with, the Great Gatsby is described as an excellent piece of social observation that offers a vibrant peek into the life of Americans in the 1920s. The writer creatively portrays the mentalities of individuals in different social classes through characters like Jay Gatsby and Nick and localities such as East and West Egg (Fitzgerald, 25). For instance, he uses East Egg to reflect on the high-class society where the residents are very wealthy, whom he refers to as “Old money.

” Residents of West Egg are wealthy too, only that their wealth is newly acquired. He contrasts their high living standards to those of inhabitants of the Valley of Ashes who are sick and oppressed by the rich. The effect of wealth on social status is evident in the life of Jay Gatsby. He is not from a wealthy background but has experience in business with eventually makes him rich and able to associate with high-class people (Fitzgerald & Matthew, 37). In this novel, social status and wealth are inseparable and form characters and their serenity in life.
Steinbeck uses social class and animal symbolism to discuss social identity in Of Mice and Men. He has set up a social class hierarchy that is based on the working status of the white male. To start with, Curley and The Boss represent the Ruling class while Slim and Carlson are a representation of the working class (Meyer, 168). The same cannot be said about Lennie because he seems trapped between two categories. He works too hard in the field but gains petite, not to mention he is depicted as a jumbled character. In contrast, candy Lennie and Curvey’s wife are a representation of the Underclass or rather the lower social class. Candy is old and does not have one hand while Lennie has a mental disorder and used by George to make money. Steinbeck pictures curvey’s wife as a woman living in a man’s world (Steinbeck, 73). It is evident that most of the characters are forced into lonely lives by the social circumstances in American in the 1930s.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, in No One Writes to the Colonel, makes it clear that in a state of martial law, a single person can’t say much. He discusses this Marxism through the political atmosphere of the colonel. The latter fights to create the ruling government and is controlled by its bureaucracy. Marquez illustrates how a corrupt government can ruin the citizens, sap their will and drive them dull with hunger (Márquez & Bernstein, 11). Through the hard times, the Colonel can maintain his pride and dignity. Therefore, the novel portrays social identity more vividly compared to the other two books. The government, through the use of martial law, controls citizens through the use of censor, secret police, and edicts. A musician’s death from a natural cause, the first in a very extended period, indicates that the martial law has caused many untimely deaths in this society (Márquez, 39). To prevent demonstrations, the government redirects his burial so that police barracks can be avoided. It is very clear that despite dedicating all his life working and service the country, the colonel has little wealth. He and his wife also endure other hardships like medical problems, financial constraints.
Morals/values
Characters in The Great Gatsby create a stout theme of morality and personal values. For instance, Nick has rigid personal values and his moral conduct I exceptional. On the other hand, the Buchanans represent a corrupt society with degraded personal values. The society is corrupted by vast hereditary wealth (Fitzgerald, 112). Nick visits the East, and the Midwestern values have shaped him into and an honest, friendly and loyal character. Since he values decency more than anything, Tom’s and Daisy’s conduct appall and dumbfounds him. They do not care about Gatsby’s death, and Nick arranges the funeral all by himself. Tom and Daisy do not only lack morality but also have no goals and live lives without purpose. Nick seems like the only self-respecting character in the novel and has morals and ethics to which he abides. Although he is Gatsby’s friend, the latter lives a life full of domineering morals and values as he is corrupt, devotional and has the will to control.
There are times in The Great Gatsby when the decision that is more difficult becomes the most ethical one. The most obvious incident of morality is George’s decision to kill Lennie towards the end of the book. Lennie kills Curvey’s wife and, therefore, George understands that he may die a more torturous death. We may view him as immoral, but the writer portrays him differently. His decision gives Lennie a chance to leave the world in which he doesn’t seem to achieve much and dies a happy and painless death (Meyer, 17). It is, therefore, evident that George’s decision is a difficult one, but he seeks a more moral solution. In this and many other instances, the author presents the situation to help us observe the moral dilemmas and social difficulties like economic exploitation, racism, and sexism. They provoke our reflection, and we cannot run away from the moral burdens in the book. Curvey’s wife, for instance, is the only woman in the story and she faces many cases of gender discrimination. Her morality is ambiguous because she is independent but still manipulates men into lust and sins through her sexuality.
The colonel’s false pride is a personal value that affects both his life and that of his wife. He is compelled, in one way or another, to prove himself through embellished acts of bodily and martial appetite. Out of fear, the Colonel is inspired to try idealistic tests of hardship (Márquez & Bernstein, 91). The society, in this book, engages in harsh cockfights and careless gambling because they comply with the domestic and foreign political mistreatments. Even the many times that they rebel against injustices in their life, it is clear that they do so out of idleness and not because they have any apparent moral resentment. The Colonel reacts to the Conservative regime but where does that lead Macondo and its citizens (Pelayo, 104). They have to battle to the point of downfall, and the Colonel’s heroism does not make any change to the lives that he wishes to improve.
The American dream and materialism
The great Gatsby portrays the American Dream in a rather negative way. There is proof in the novel that the American dream is dead through an indication into the life of the high class. The way the book deals with social classes indicates how contemporary values have distorted pure ideals in the American dream a system of greedy power. Gatsby is an excellent example of the characters who are dedicated to amassing wealth, and he is a synonymous representation of individuals killing the American dream (Fitzgerald & Matthew, 07). Therefore, this book irradiates the fragility as well as the triviality of the dream in which so many people aspired. It is like the writer is telling the reader to be careful what they want in life if what is seen here is the American dream. Right from the first chapter, the Buchanans are portrayed as wealthy people with affiliations and lives that lack meaning.
Of Mice and Men, on the other hand, represents the possibility of achieving the American dream in a more positive way. Through Lennie and George, Steinbeck shows how individuals share this goal. The two characters want to have their ranch and crops, not to mention live an independent life (Steinbeck, 44). Although Candy is old, she does not want that to be the reason she is fired. She aspires to work hard and live a better life. A typical example of an aspiration to realize the American dream is Curvey’s wife’s desire to become a movie star so that she can wear good clothes and stay in comfy hotels. Besides, even ordinary ranch workers dream of life they see in the Western magazines (Steinbeck, 40). While these dreams allude to the American dream, they also serve as energy that helps the characters find the meaning of life and have a reason to live. They live in a society that is dominated by hard economic circumstances, but they press on. Despite all the hardships, George does not give up on Lennie because they share a dream.
In No One Writes to the Colonel, the life that both the Colonel and his wife live show how hard it is to realize the American dream amid materialism and greed in the society. The colonel, for instance, waits for pensions that never come. Through him, we can see the society and its governance failing the hopeful (Márquez, 35). The fighting cock and his son also represent hope for a better future. Everybody has faith in a better tomorrow, which is probably the reason why they keep rebelling against the corrupt and exploitive government. Marquez keenly creates an atmosphere that is more persuasive than the ordinary world of radical subjugation, and futile subversive resistance may be suggesting (Pelayo, 13). How could the American dream be realized in such a world of decadence and decay that is filled with personal pride and understatement? It is unfortunate that the hopeful keep on fighting to keep their dreams realistic but the wealthy and the privileged continue to suppress them.
In summary, it is evident that social status/identity, morals/values and the American dream are dominant themes and points of discussion across the three literature materials. In The Great Gatsby, the writer creatively portrays the mentalities of individuals in different social classes through characters like Jay Gatsby. Nick is a representation of individuals with good morals, not to mention the only character that follows the American dream. Steinbeck, on the other hand, divides his characters the ruling class, the working class and the lower social class. The essay explains how moral decisions affect lives whereby Lennie kills Curvey’s wife and George has to kill his friend. Notably, this book portrays the American dream in a positive way. Lastly, the essay shows that all the three themes in “No One Writes to the Colonel” are based on the life lead by the Colonel and his wife. Works Cited
Fitzgerald, Scott. “The Great Gatsby”. Feedbooks, 1925, http://www.feedbooks.com/book/5543/the-great-gatsby other book.Fitzgerald, F S., and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The great Gatsby. Cambridge New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991. Print.
Márquez, Gabriel. No One Writes To The Colonel, And Other Stories. 1st ed., New York, Harper & Row, 1968,.Márquez, Gabriel, and J. S. Bernstein. No one writes to the colonel. London: Penguin Books, 1996. Print.
Meyer, Michael J. The Essential Criticism of John Steinbeck’s of Mice and Men. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press, 2009. Print.
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. Internet resource.Pelayo, Rubén. Gabriel Garcia Marquez: A Critical Companion. London: Greenwood Pr, 2001. Print.